Narrow escape for Northbridge officer stabbed with spear

Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Friday

Feb 1, 2013 at 10:00 AMFeb 1, 2013 at 8:11 PM

A police officer was speared by a Whitinsville man early this morning after the man, who had a warrant for a revoked vehicle registration and suspended license, took off after being stopped by police in Milford.

Adam M. Tillison, 27, of 11 High St., was arraigned in Uxbridge District Court today on multiple charges including failure to stop for police; speeding (70+ mph in a 30 mph zone); reckless operation of a motor vehicle; failure to stop at a red light; operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license; operating a motor vehicle with a revoked registration; uninsured motor vehicle on a public way; default warrant; disorderly conduct; resisting arrest; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (double-bladed spearhead); assault to murder; attempted murder; and possession of a dangerous weapon.

He is being held at Worcester County House of Correction pending a dangerousness hearing Tuesday.

Northbridge Police Officer Thomas Dejordy was treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus in Worcester for stab wounds from the spear and was released, according to court documents.

According to the police report, Milford Police notified Northbridge Police sometime before 4 a.m. Friday that they had attempted to stop Mr. Tillison, who was driving a 2003 Jaguar sedan, on Route 16 near Milford Regional Medical Center but Mr. Tillison sped off at high speed.

Mr. Tillison said in his witness statement to police that he had gone to Milford to pick up newspapers to deliver for his brother, who is in the hospital. He said he fled from the Milford officer because he was told to step out of the car without being asked for his license.

Northbridge Officer Brian Collins saw the Jaguar heading northwest on Linwood Avenue, near Northbridge Middle School, and he turned on his emergency lights to follow Mr. Tillison. Mr. Tillison allegedly accelerated to more than 70 mph in a 30 mph zone and sped through the flashing red light at Memorial Square, toward his home on High Street.

Officer Collins, who recognized Mr. Tillison, continued to 11 High St., where he saw Mr. Tillison trying to enter the rear door of the house. As Officer Collins checked around the house, Officer Dejordy arrived and forced his way inside the front door to follow Mr. Tillison.

The police report continues that Officer Dejordy struggled with Mr. Tillison, who was waiting at the top of the stairs with a two-and-a-half-foot double-bladed spear he had grabbed from a table on the second floor. Officer Dejordy, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, suffered puncture wounds to his chest and arm.

“Mr. Tillison indicated that he knew Officer Dejordy had a weapon and therefore he wanted to arm himself with a weapon,” Officer Collins wrote in the report.